Rubies Jabba the Hutt Costume

October 30, 2009

I’m not sure, but I think this may be the first commercially available Jabba the Hutt costume. It’s based on the Clone Wars version of Jabba, so it’s rather stylized. It’s also tan and brown, which is kind of unfortunate since even the Clone Wars Jabba had some green to his coloration. The costume is made of a parachute-like material and comes in two pieces: a body suit that you step into (it zips up the back and closes with pull strings at the wrists and ankles — more on that later), and a separate head piece that doesn’t really attach to the body at all. The head has two ribbons that I assume are for tying around your chin to secure it.

The unusual aspect of the costume is that it comes with a small electric fan. This is not to keep you cool, as I saw reported somewhere (although the costume does in fact get rather hot). Instead, it is intended to puff up the costume, filling out the tail and the body to more huttesque proportions. It works surprisingly well, although mine didn’t come with any instructions on how to use it (it did have instructions about how to change the batteries in half a dozen languages, though…) The fan has two parts connected by a wire.: the fan itself and a battery pack with a clip on it that you can use to attach it to your belt or lapel. The fan actually has a part that comes apart, allowing you to “install” it in an exhaust hole in the back of the costume. It’s a little hard to explain. You do need to have the pull ties at the wrists and ankles closed to keep the air in, or you won’t inflate as well. The downside to the fan idea is that it makes a constant low hum that is fairly noticeable.

The costume is a little unwieldy. Your legs are bound fairly close together by the costume material, so you can’t do anything more than shuffle along. And the head obstructs your vision by a fair amount (the nostrils and mouth are made of a mesh material that you can see through, but it’s still tricky). And yes, it does get a little hot. Anyway, I thought I shouldn’t pass up the chance to be Jabba this Halloween, but I’m not sure that I’d want to go to a busy party in this. It seems to retail for around $70, but I got it for significantly less than that.